There was a time in the 80's (and some in the early 90's) when horror was fascinated with rock and metal bands, resulting in cheesefests like Black Roses, Slaughterhouse Rock, Monster Dog, Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare, and the more notable Trick or Treat with Ozzy Osbourne and Gene Simmons. Though the genre will still occasionally get a flick with a musical focus to it, the times of greasy long haired rockers becoming demons or fighting off a killer are long gone. And apparently writer/director Jason Lei Howden thought now was the right time to bring'em back! Thus, we have Deathgasm--a love letter to all those cheesy metal horror movies we once loved and it's a hell of a lot of fun!

The story follows a young metal fan named Brodie, who's forced to move in with his fundamentalist Christian Aunt and Uncle in a small New Zealand town. He quickly befriends fellow metalhead Zakk and they form a band with a couple other dudes for fun. After discovering one of their fallen idols possibly lives in an old house nearby, they decide to break in to see if the rumors are true. Inside they come across reclusive aging rocker "Rikki Daggers" who hands them some sheet music before getting killed off by a mystery man in a suit. Little do the guys know, they've just been handed the supernatural means to get anything they've always wanted. All they have to do is play what's on the sheet... the next thing they know it they've got a Satanic cult hunting them down and they've just maybe, quite possibly... started the apocalypse! (don't'cha just hate when that happens)

First off, much like the films Deathgasm imitates, it's cheesy and not to be taken seriously AT ALL, so a lot of the plot holes that are clearly apparent in the story can be overlooked. With that in mind, the movie is a lot of fun! While it does take a bit for things to kick in, when it does it's pretty much mayhem with loads of great practical gore and splatter effects, along with some nice makeup for the look of the demons. The movie has above average production values for an indie flick and the comedy works (for the most part). It also does a decent job fleshing out key characters, so you actually care what happens to these people.

I suppose my only complaints are that some of the pacing in the first half is a little mixed and the lack of unique characteristics for the demons (they all pretty much look and act the same). Lastly, the climax felt a little rushed and wasn't as epic as I had hoped, but aside from that it's a pretty entertaining flick.

Deathgasm is a fun and gory tribute to the cheesy rock flicks from yesteryear. The comedy is decent and though the pacing isn't the best in the first half, once it kicks in the movie offers some great practical and makeup effects. If you're a fan of those cheesy metalhead horror movies from the past then give this a look!